Improvement in safety-valves



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PATE NTED FEB 18 868 l To WHOM rr MAY corcnnn:

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Lettere'latent No. 74,656, elated Feruaryls, 1868i.

IMIROVEMENT IN SAFETY-VALVES.

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Be it known that I, JEARUM ATKINS, ci' Mokena, Will county, in the State of Illinois, have made new and useful Improvements .in Safety-Valve Regulator-s;" and I hereby declare thfe following to be a full and exact description of the saine, reference being* had to the drawings that accompany and forma part of 'these specifications.

Figure l is an elevation of the spring-balance and lever, anda vertical section of the valve and its seat.

Figure 2 is a front view of the standard and its attachments.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on a line c b.

Figure 4, another mode of applying a rolling fulcrum to levers ofV safety-valves.-

Figiu'e 5, sectional view on a. line c d. Y

Figure 6, still another Inode of applying my device.

Figure 7, sectional view on a line e f. l

Letter A, the safety-valve and its seat, attached to' the top'o` theihoilely are similar to those in common use, and need no particular description. The spindle B connects thcisafetyvalve with the spring-balance lever C in the usual manner, excepting that the pin e,which connects thc spindle with the lever, is V-shaped, to make the bearing upon a single line to avoidfriction. The spring-balancal), is made in the usual form, but diers from those in use in the mode oi attaching it to the boiler and the lever C, the outer end of which forms an are of a circle, whose centre is at the centre of rocking-har It. Theupper end ofthe spindle E of the spriug-balance has a mortisc, through which the lever C passes, a friction-roller,f, being placed over said lever in the mortise. A spring-catch, L, attached to the spindle E, takes into notches on the under side of thelcver C, and serves to hold the spring-balance in whatever position it may be placed. A screw, z, attached to the lower'end of the spring-balance, passes through a short rocking-bar, la, which is pivoted tobrackets attached to the boiler-front .by screw-bolts, as' seen atl Z, g. 1. A nut,`m, that works on the screw z', is for the purpose of giving the spring-balance the proper degree of tension. 'Ihe right-hand or inner portion of the lever C isbent up perpendicularly, forming a right angle with the other portion ofsaid lever. The hole, in which a pin, n, at its angular point works, is elongated perpendicularly,` to allow the lever to rise or fall a. little, while the '.pin n remains stationary in the standard?, to prevent any lateral motion in lever.C. The standard P has a large mortise'in it, the lower portion of which'is contracted to the thickness ofthe lever C, as seen at r in lg.\2. VIn the mortise referred to, is lplaced the link S, which connects the lever C with the top of the standard; the link receiving the upward strain on the inner' or righthandend of lever C, thelpin n, as before stated, being only to prevent lateral motion in the lever. The lower end of the link S is slotted, and lreceives 4the end of lever '0, and is attached to it by the V-shaped pin t, and to the standard at the top fby a similar pin, u. f The pins e, t, and u,

being V-shaped, the friction uponthem is avoided, consequently lthere will be but little diilerence between the l pressure of steam that will lift the valve Vand that at which it will descend to its seat.

The spring-balance, in ordinary workingvill stand in a vertical position, as shown in iig. 1, when the pressure of lsteaml will be at its maximum;` but whenever it is desirable to adjust the s ring-balance, so that Y steam will escape at a reduced pressure, it is only necessary to move the spindle E, on the lever C, towards the valve, thus shortening the leverage; consequently the pressure at which steam will escape is Acorresploinding'ly' diminished. A graduated scale may be marked on' the lever C to indicate the pressure at which steam will escape, andA by which thers'pring-balance may be set, so that steam will escape at any point desired. When the safety-valve is closed, the point of bearing on the three pins, n, t, and u, will all be on the same vertical line,- and the point-at which the upward strain is'received on the short end of lever C will Vbe at the centre of pin n, or on the vertical line del; but when therleverG is lifted by the pressure of steam upon the valve, the perpendicular portion of said lever is inclined to the right. The link S is also inclined to the right, and the point,

ing of pin c,v at which a line extended through pins t and u, falls.

It will be seen that when the lever G rises by the pressure of the escaping steam, the short end of lever C is lengthened, which willl compensate for the increasing tension of the spring-balance, and that 'by increasing the length ot" thc vertical part of lever C, or by diminishing the length of link S, or by both, a point will be on lever C, at which the strain is snstainledpheiug at a point on a line extended horizontally through the bearreached atwhich the lengthening ofthe short arm of lever C,Aby the lifting of the valve, as described, will comj pensate for the increasing stiffness ofthe spring-balance, and also the clogging or jamming of the safety-valve,

so that no material increase in the pressure of steam will take place above that atwhich it commences to escape from the valve.

I have also illustrated two other modes o f applying a rolling fulcrum to the levers of safety-valves, one mode being shown in iig. 4, and the other iniig. 6. In bothof these lattenplans it will be seen, by reference to the drawings, that I contemplate applying the rolling fulcrum to the short end of the holdingdown lever,v instead of the long end, as described in the foregoing specifications. In iig. 4, C represents the lever. A horizontal bar, Gr, lying on thetop of lever C, has a slot at one end, in which 'are placed thr'ee rollers, H, all of the lsame diameter, held by the pin c, as-seen in iig. 5. `It will also be seen' that the centre roller bears upon'lever C, andfreceives the upward pressure of said lever, while the two outside rollers bear against the top of the mortise in` the standard I, a recess being formed in the top of the mortise, over the centre roller, to prevent its bearing against the standard. An angular lever, J, having its fulcrum at the top of standard K, is for the pur. pose of giving motion to the rollers H. The outer portion ofthe lever C is turned upward, and forms the segment of a circle, T. There are severalnotches` along the outer curved surface of this segment, into which the" spring-catch L takes, to hold the' lever J irl-its position. As the lever J is moved up and down, the ,roller-sli roll back and forthoil lever C, and has the effect of lengthening and shortening the leverage, luy-which lmeans the apparatus` may be adjusted so that steam will escape at any desired-pressure. Again, referring to fig. 6, the holding-down'lever is represented at C; a single roller, R, is carried in the slotted end ofthe angular lever- M; a rounded shoulder at the angle-ot' the lever bears against the top of the mortise in standard X. Several i teeth, projecting above the shoulder, tit into mortiscs in the top of the standard to hold the lever in position. An uprightl standard, Y, is attached to the front ofthe boiler, the upper portion of which forms a segment of a'- circle, whose centre is at the angular point of lever M. This standard passes through a mo'rtise in the outer end of lever C, and is for the purpose of guiding lever M in its up-and-down movements, the spring-catch being ',used to hold the lever at any point dsired, as in the mode last described.v By moving the handle ot' lever M up`or down, the roller is carried backward or forward on `lever C, thus changing thelevernge for the purposesheretofore explained.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The construction of the safety-valve lever C, or its equivalent, with its outer portion curved, and itsA combination with the mor'tised spindle B, rollerf, and spring-catch h, substantially as speeedl 2. In combination with a spring-balance D, I claim the rocking-bark, screw z', and nut m, as described and set forth. y l

3.-'I claim the arrangement of the lever C, bent vto form an angle with. the link-S, standard P, and pins n, t, and u', substantially as described.

,' 4. I alsoclaim the `combina-tieniof the rolling fulcrum f with the lsafety-valve lever C, substantially as 'shown andd'escribed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specicationin the presence'oftwo subscribing witnesses.

JEARUM ATKINS.

Witnesses:

C. F. WILSON, EDM. F. BROWN, 

